Barry Baker

Loves journalism, is not a journalist. Loves politics, is not a politician. Loves the media, is not a medium. Barry is committed to helping the world become a more interesting place with Power of Opinion.

88 posts categorized "Kamloops"

April 29, 2008

OK, now that I've finished patting myself on the back, the reason I appeared at the Radio-Television News Directors Association professional development conference on the weekend is that broadcasters are exploring blogs - and other online phenomenon - as a source of information. While, as Mel Rothenburger suggested, many bloggers perceive mainstream media to be the competition, the news professionals at this conference didn't give me the sense they felt likewise about us. That doesn't mean they aren't skeptical.

Traditional media have been somewhat sidelined by the rapid exchange of images, information, and opinion between non-traditional publishers and consumers on the Internet. Fairly recent developments have seen CNN formalize its relationship with citizen journalists via a managed iReport segment on its own home page - complete with an assignment desk, featured iReporters, an iReport bureau in Second Life - and its standalone iReport web service, to which people can upload their "Unedited. Unfiltered. News." items. A small number of iReport items make it to the CNN.com home page, where they stand alongside headlines and stories generated by the organization's own reporters.

When CTV.com relaunched in January, it also incorporated a nascent iReport feature, called MyNews. It includes a call to would-be citizen journalists to "Send us your cell phone pictures." Unfortunately, this call to action is way tardy to the action. If media organizations really want to leverage citizen journalists, they must habituate people to the act of uploading images and content to their proprietary services before any actionable news items are recorded. That way, when a newsworthy event is captured, novice citizen journalists already have the network's email address in their camera-enabled cell-phones, and the practice of sending images to that media endpoint has already been established. If the network instead waits until after the news item has been captured (as it is now), they are at risk of losing the images to competing services like YouTube. I'll discuss how the media might establish those behaviours in a subsequent post.

So, although Canadian media are just beginning to exploit the chaotic and evolving citizen journalist phenomenon, it doesn't mean they haven't tried.

You might recall that a little over a year ago, both Global and CTV broadcast video of a Marine Atlantic ferry battling massive waves in the Cabot Strait between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (below). Unfortunately for the networks, the ferry wasn't in the Cabot Strait, nor was it in any Canadian or North American waters. In fact, it seems that the images captured a distressed ferry in New Zealand.

Wherever it originated, at some point the dramatic footage was uploaded to YouTube, where it was observed by maritime Canadians, who in turn reported it to Global and Newfoundland's CTV affiliate. Neither network confirmed its authenticity with Marine Atlantic, and so ran completely separate and erroneous reports.

The challenge in the newsroom is pretty significant. It's easy to use information from blogs, social networking sites, and citizen journalists. The hard part is using that material while maintaining accuracy and credibility.

That's why I'm content to blog about the news that other people (essentially, mainstream media) collect, rather than covering events myself. I don't consider myself to be either a citizen journalist, or a threat to conventional media. If anything, it's the opposite; through my links to the media's stories, I (like many other bloggers) actually help drive more eyeballs to media web sites.

This blog is about my opinion and perception. While I reserve the right to report on issues that others don't (or won't) cover, for the most part I prefer stuff I can link to; otherwise it's just too much damn work.

This is my hobby. This is not journalism.

To share your thoughts about news media, bloggers, citizen journalists or any other subject with Right Up Your
Alley: Kamloops
readers, click on "Comments" (below).

It's funny, because over time I've done more public speaking than most people. Back in grade school, my gift for the public gab help me achieve lofty political office as Bert Edwards Elementary School's student body president. The attention was often exhilarating, but when it failed to produce a high instead my body was wracked with excruciating performance anxiety (racing heart, vomiting, the runs, etc.). I recall as a boy hiding in the change room at MacDonald Park swimming pool before swimming lessons, my guts churning with anticipation of... who knows what?

It got worse over time. In Mr. Shanahan's grade 8 English class at McArthur Park, I literally fainted while reading a creative writing assignment to the class. But rather than have my secret fears exposed, I quickly embellished a cover story while recovering in the medical room, a story which involving skipped breakfast (well I had, the day before) and a chocolate bar on the way to school (actually, one of my classmates had done that). The concerned teaching staff predictably concluded that my blood sugar had crashed at the exact moment I stood up to speak; as they swallowed the bait I discovered that a little misdirection could help me avoid admitting my weakness.

Sports affect me the same way. I was a nationally-ranked wrestler in high school, but as much as practices were fun, the tournaments were dreadful. Same thing with rugby and football. The other boys would jump around, screaming and shouting to pump themselves up, but I couldn't peel myself off the toilet.

During Expo 86 I was a host at the BC Pavilion, and regularly spoke to groups of 250 people or more. I only lost it once through those 6 phenomenal months in Vancouver, but although it was the exception that's still really the only occasion I can recall with any clarity. I completely lost it at the microphone, first with a rod-stiff neck, then increasingly frequent facial ticks, a racing heart, quavering voice, and obvious/audible hyperventilation that prompted several kindly older ladies to ask if I needed to see a doctor as they filed out at the end of the presentation.

A few years ago, Microsoft asked me to sit on a panel of .NET early adopters at a large conference in Anaheim. I agreed, but was so overwhelmed with dread that I asked my doctor for help. He suggested beta blockers, which apparently are quite widely used by public speakers, and even world-renowned surgeons prior to operations. They are supposed to block most nervous symptoms, but leave your thoughts unimpeded. The day before I left for the conference, I tried out this new remedy at a the Friday morning Daybreak Rotary meeting, where I imposed on an acquaintance to bring me along as a guest. Then, armed with a roll of loonies, I stood up and explained my situation to the group while plugging loonies into the announcement fund. It seemed to work at the time, but two days later in Anaheim, as I climbed on stage with Microsoft CIO Rick Devenuti and other bright lights, I would have given anything for a nice quiet outhouse and a shot of Demerol.

Around the same time, I agreed to speak at a city council on behalf of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce (on which board I served). My friend Al McNair suggested a home-remedy for stage fright: Gravol. I slipped one under my tongue as we sat and waited our turn in council chambers, but by the time I jumped up to speak it hadn't calmed my nerves one bit. Rather, the Gravol had numbed my tongue to the point where any spoken words would have been completely unintelligible. In fact, I had to keep wiping away the saliva that was running down into my goatee from the corner of my now completely numb lips. Thankfully, my fragile heart raced for naught; we weren't on the list of speakers, so then-Mayor Rothenburger saved the day by promptly dismissing me when I stood to salivate at the lectern.

The good former mayor won't be able to rescue me tomorrow however, as someone else will have the gavel. The two of us are co-panelists, and will join speakers from CTV and the CBC on stage for the afternoon forum. With any luck my new and improved prescription of beta blockers will allow me to do more than pry myself away from the loo for just long enough to get up on stage and crawl under the table.

Will I offer anything of value to the assembled broadcast news directors? I hope so. I enjoy blogging, and as frequent readers can attest, really love the media. As it is however, maybe the most lasting (and representative) impression I'll leave them with is this; bloggers may come across as fearless and opinionated blow hards, but when the light of day is cast upon us, some of us look a lot like chickens.

That's a joke... I say, that's a joke, son!

To share your thoughts about stage fright, performance anxiety, blow hards, the media, pill-popping, or any other subject with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops
readers, click on "Comments" (below).

March 21, 2008

This weekend Kamloops is full of martial artisans, as the city plays host to the 2008 CTFI Western Taekwon-do Championships.

Thompson Valley Taekwon-do Schools, led by Mr. Rob Gill (V Dan Black Belt), took over the Tournament Capital Centre this afternoon. I helped a little, but stayed away from most of the action due to a nasty flu bug. However, here is a quick couple of snapshots of the field house as the setup transpired.

Over 300 competitors representing 20 schools across four provinces will make this one of the largest Taekwon-do events in Canada this year, second only to the nationals. Admission is free, so if you want to discover traditional taekwon-do, the Tournament Capital Centre in Kamloops is the place to be March 22 (tomorrow).

March 19, 2008

Back in December I took one upside the head from a reader who accused me of (among other things), engaging in pseudo-journalism in this space. The comment took me a little by surprise; although the media is a constant source of fascination, it had never occurred to me that my posts might come across as a wanna-be reporting. Rather, since about my kindergarten years I have felt a keen sense of responsibility to share my opinions with people, even if that meant putting them in a head-lock to make sure they didn't miss anything. While it's tough to form such a intimate embrace with readers online, I do hope that the quantity of opinions here have somehow made up for the quality and lack of bias some readers may look for.

Since that dust-up in December I've been trying to pay more attention to the blogger/journalist relationship, however. A large body of commentary has already been dedicated to the evolving free press ecosystem over the last five or six years, so I've been making hay with the opportunity to engage in a brand new navel-gazing exercise.

All that research came into sharp focus this afternoon, when I received an anonymous comment from a Right Up Your Alley Reader reader about the status of a major Kamloops business operation.

The fact that this information was provided anonymously has created a quandary for me; should I publish, or not?

I bounced the idea off a couple of experienced journalists who generously heard me out, then advised against publication unless I can confirm the information independently. And so I guess it's back to this... am I a journalist? And even if I don't consider myself to be one, should I recognize and conform to the ethics of that profession?

If you're going to let someone publish something in your
publication, whether in print or online, know their identity and read
their submission before its publication. If they truly are willing to
stand behind their words, then they must be willing to withstand
identification by the publisher who has legal responsibility for the
publication of their words.

If they request that the publisher
disguise or omit their identity in publication, let them first provide
the publisher with a cogent reason. (The publisher should state
somewhere on the page's boilerplate that a writer's name may be
withheld for reasons but only after prior identification.)

But that's a different context, more oriented towards blogs on media web sites, rather than independent free-standing blogs like mine, although the question of legal responsibility is essentially identical. A response by Robin Baker to that column took a less intrusive approach to anonymous comments:

When you read a blog, understand it from the perspective
that I do. Blogs are about the doughnut shop. Whether it be Tim
Horton’s or Dunkin Donuts. It is not Blogs or Bloggers intruding on
Journalism, it is about journalism listening in on the conversation
going on between the donuts next door.

OK, so that whole doughnut thing kind of threw me, but that stuff about the conversation is pretty close to on-target. Requiring independent confirmation might satisfy journalists, but is that really relevant to a blogging community that is more about dialogue than one-way delivery of content?

There have been a variety of attempts over the last few years to develop code of ethics for bloggers, but these attempts have largely fallen by the wayside because: 1). bloggers are fiercely independent, so top-down concepts are essentially non-starters, and; 2). bloggers refused to adopt a code based upon the code of ethics for journalists.

Many bloggers would prefer that the community at large have the opportunity to vet comments and information (much like peers review research papers) to the withholding of information by publishers. One of the most promising (and recent) blogger codes was originally produced last year by Tim O'Rielly, a popular technology publisher, and is now being exercised further by the blogging community here at the Blogging Wikia.

Here again, there is a bias against purely anonymous comments, and part of the motivation for that seems to be that the publisher (read: the blogger) assumes responsibility for all comments, even (and especially) anonymous comments. Bloggers can look foolish (and do real harm, sometimes to themselves) if they publish anonymous comments that are untrue or unfair.

I don't know here I stand on the issue of anonymous comments (yet), but if you left an anonymous comment today, understand that I am doing my best to figure out what to do with your information. I can't provide you the same protection as a professional journalist (there isn't much in the way of Canadian case law that provides for a blogger to protect the identity of a source), but if you do confirm your identity with me I won't reveal it unless forced to do so, which I suspect is unlikely (although I am not a lawyer, and nothing here should be construed as legal advice). Just leave a comment below (your email information will not be published) or email me directly at barry@barrybaker.ca. Or, if you prefer, just look me up in the book and give me a call.

To share your thoughts on ethics for bloggers, the differences and similarities between bloggers and journalists, anonymous sources, or anything else about this post with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, just click on "Comments"
(below).

March 17, 2008

Homebound this weekend, nursing a sick little one who insisted on proof that spring has sprung in Kamloops at 2,900 feet. Despite the 3/4" of snow up here yesterday afternoon, the tulips continue to push through the garden soil, and the primroses and crocuses (as below) are giving us hope.

Yellow Primrose:

Crocuses:

Blue Primrose:

Tired of winter? What are you doing to usher in spring, or keep yourself sane? To share your thoughts with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, just click on "Comments"
(below).

March 13, 2008

I knew it was just a matter of time, finally found another blog with the same name. This one, published by a young lady in Singapore (left), predates mine by several months, having first gone online in February 2007.

Singapore is a 12,838 kilometers away (as below), which means my Asian compatriot is little over half a day (15 hours) ahead of us.

Selamat tengah hari, selamat bertemu neighbour!

To share your thoughts about Singapore, blogging across borders, or anything else with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

Ms. Mesley (at right) spoke to a friendly audience, several of whom didn't hesitate to pitch a tent once they had the microphone during the Q & A period. Ms. Mesley's sometimes confused expression (accompanied by an increasing number of rolled eyes by long-suffering attendees) didn't slow down several long-winded sermons delivered by a representative of Save our CBC Kamloops, a nursing instructor, a denier of climate change deniers, etc.

While the subjects of her lecture included a broad mixture of politics, journalism road stories, cancer survival, and investigative reporting, what fascinated me right out of the gate was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Immediately after approaching the lectern at the Clock Tower Theatre, Ms. Mesley acknowledge a little discomfort with her microphone headset, and the fact that she was standing at the foot of a theatre with a couple of hundred people staring down at her. As an anchor she typically works in a studio with no audience, not even human camera operators.

Throughout the presentation she expressed unease and fidgeted with the headset, until she finally knocked the wireless unit/back pack off the lectern. Hanging as it was from her headset cord, she fumbled with it for a minute while looking off-stage for a technician to help her. Unfortunately, no assistance was forthcoming, so she toughed it out by herself. Visibly flustered, Ms. Mesley carefully picked up her train of thought verbally while scanning her notes to re-establish her place, then just talked her way through it until the colour left her cheeks, and her pace resumed. While a couple of hundred people isn't the biggest audience in the world, she still did a great job picking things up despite the obvious fumble with unfamiliar equipment.

Her apparent self-awareness didn't, however lend itself to much depth in her response to my own question about how her cancer experience has changed her as a journalist, specifically in respect to becoming part of the story. Despite admitting earlier in the evening that prior to her cancer, she had resisted to "going all Oprah" over stories, once she was diagnosed she injected herself quite effectively into her documentary.

Maybe she was a little defensive, having faced sharp criticism over her documentary from the likes of the Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente, who in 2006 wrote:

There's every reason to admire Ms. Mesley personally. But her journalism, in this case, is another matter. Chasing the Cancer Answer is stunningly simplistic. It peddles the biggest of the conspiracy-theory myths about cancer and its causes. It's full of misleading information and fear-mongering. It ignores a vast body of serious science. And it does a profound disservice to the public, many of whom rely on the public broadcaster for responsible and balanced journalism...

Advocacy journalism is all very well. But Chasing the Cancer Answer omits (or misstates) a number of important facts. To start with, there is no cancer epidemic. Overall cancer rates (as opposed to the number of cancer cases) have been relatively stable for more than a decade. While the incidence of some cancers have risen, others have fallen; overall, you have no more chance of getting cancer than you did 10 years ago. What pushes up the number of cases is that cancer is overwhelmingly a degenerative disease of older age, and our society is aging. Cancer is our second-biggest killer — but that's because we're living long enough to get it.

Her unsatisfying response is most likely my own fault, as my question wasn't very specific or well-formed. Like most of the others who asked questions, I somehow expected her to intuit and sympathize with my intent. In fact, most of us who had a crack at the microphone appeared guilty of being more interested in what we had to say than what the speaker had to offer.

I was actually looking for Ms. Mesley's perspective regarding her
decision to inject herself into the her documentary, to discover at
what point the threshold for doing so was achieved (OK, that was my
inside voice, it was a little more challenging to articulate my
thoughts with a microphone in my hand). Why? Because some commentators have very accurately described amateur bloggers as self-absorbed. In fact, most of us spend so much time writing about ourselves that it is quite literally our specialty. Most of the blogs I read (and produce) feature posts in which the author fully participates in the story, either as the central figure or just a plain old loudmouth.

What I do and what Ms. Mesley does are
worlds apart; she's a professional journalist at the top of her game (which includes chasing a story in our area), while I'm just a hobbyist with a digital voice recorder I can't figure out. But in some respects maybe bloggers and journalists are alike, and being struck by our distant cousin's acute self-awareness is a case in point. If professional journalists can - and maybe, should - become part of the story, certainly bloggers should have similar latitude?

At Behind the Headlines (a blog written by the editors of the Lexington Herald-Leader about their editorial decisions), the subject of reporters becoming part of the story was addressed last summer when a reporter took possession of evidence in a homicide investigation. Assistant metro editor Dori Hjalmarson described the dilemma as follows:

Normally the ethical muses of journalism frown on reporters becoming characters in the news they are writing about. Herald-Leader reporters and editors go to great lengths to balance and separate our jobs and our personal lives. It’s our duty to tell stories through others’ voices, to present other points of view – not our own.

Wendy Mesley isn't the first journalist to become a big part of the story (think of the extremes to which Hunter S. Thompson pushed the limits of journalism almost forty years ago), and she hasn't made a practice of it since Chasing The Cancer Answer was initially broadcast. But if not, then why not? And, how should we evaluate journalists? Based upon the large majority of cases in which they conform to dispassionate best practices, or those infrequent cases in which they stray away from them?

To share your thoughts about becoming part of the story, long-winded questions, the cancer industry, or Wendy Mesley with Right Up
Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

March 03, 2008

I travel a fair amount, and because I'm based in Kamloops, I fly almost exclusively with Air Canada. While I often hear other travellers complain about their Air Canada experience, mine have actually been pretty good. The staff are helpful and patient, and with only a couple of exceptions, provide the kind of service that makes me a content passenger.

On my most recent trip, the services was excellent again. However, while waiting in the departures area at YKA, I overheard two ladies talking about a new policy on short Air Canada Jazz flights... no water service and no snacks. In Kamloops, that would be a hardship, given that the snack dispenser past security invariably swallows my money, but doesn't spit anything out.

I didn't really pay that much attention until we were up in the air, at which point it became very clear that no water, nor coffee, nor tea, nor pop, nor juice, no salty snacks, nor cookies would be served. No sense bothering the steward with a question he had no doubt been asked many times since the new policy was implemented, so I just took a couple of mints from his tray when he came around.

Mints. That's it. I took two (pictured) because there were two kinds (white with green stripes or white with red stripes). And yes, that is an Off-Centre magazine in the background!

When it comes right down to it, maybe there isn't that much here to bitch about. But still, isn't it just common courtesy to offer water to your guests? I haven't managed to find anything about the new policy online, so if you have the details, please email me or leave a comment.

Air Canada staff: thumbs up! :~D

Air Canada penny-pinchers: thumbs down >:~P

To share your thoughts about Air Canada, this new "no snacks, no beverages" policy, economy class, or travel in general with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

February 28, 2008

Black Press unveiled the latest stage of its Internet strategy this month when it introduced streaming video news stories, which are now accessible to visitors of all Black Press newspaper web sites in BC via the company's consolidated web platform, www.BCLocalNews.com.

As reported here in January, the BC Black Press BC web property already compares quite favourably to other media web sites in the Interior. Now, with the introduction of video news stories, Canada's largest independent newspaper chain is flexing its muscle while much of the competition - especially here in Kamloops - appears rather flat-footed in comparison.

The first video news story, a Chilliwack Progress story published February 8, covered the deaths of two pedestrians in traffic on the Trans Canada Highway under the Lickman Road overpass. The story primarily consists of drivers recounting their experience and responding to questions asked by an off-camera reporter, while the camera captures flashing police lights and cars crawling by on the #1. For those of us who are accustomed to broadcast reporters who often interpret events as much as cover them, it looks pretty sparse. But if you want your news update now, in both written and video format, and like the option of being able to go back and view 3 weeks later, there's a lot here to like.

Aside from the fact that Black Press has taken the video plunge, what I love about its approach is that it is threading the needle by incorporating video one newspaper at a time and one story at a time, rather than attempting to launch the initiative simultaneously across the entire newspaper group. This how projects get done, rather than undone.

Congratulations Black Press. When can we expect video stories from Kamloops This Week?

To share your thoughts about Black Press, local media properties, or media convergence in Kamloops or elsewhere with Right Up
Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

February 26, 2008

Well, the needle has finally moved on Angus Reid's advertisement, or poll, or whatever the heck it is that asks Kamloops residents to rate the performance of Kamloops mayor Terry Lake.

Those of you who who visited this space back in December may recall a
thread of discussion about these... OK, let's call them adverpolls for lack of a better word. They're everywhere; Angus Reid Forum uses them to generate interest and new participants in its market research initiatives. When I posted about the adverpoll - which at the time was reporting a 60/40 split against Mayor Lake - the mayor responded that in fact the adverpoll had reported the same result for at least 6 months, despite the best efforts of his supporters.

So, the results of this Angus Reid adverpoll have finally changed, although certainly not in the mayor's fortune, but instead rather decidedly and improbably against Mr. Lake.

As you can see from before two images below, the first image shows the adverpoll's question, while the second image shows the current result.

Despite the flack the mayor has received regarding back yard barbeques and whatnot, is it really possible that 100% of "a selection of website visitors who voluntarily answered the question" voted against the mayor? Granted, the disclaimer indicates it is an "unscientific poll", but still, if at one point it showed 40% in favour, how can it now indicate just 0% in favour? What happened to those "Yes" votes that had been counted to December?

Insofar as Angus Reid Forum adverpolls are interactive, they are excellent advertising; the local poll certainly hooked me right away. Given the extent to which Angus Reid Forum has reproduced them in other communities across Canada, I suspect they have been a very effective draw that have helped the company grow its market research efforts.

However, as Kamloops This Week Editor Christopher Foulds commented in December, "... the 'Terry Lake' question is not a poll". That may be, but to this unassuming participant it looks like a poll despite the "unscientific poll" disclaimer, which in essence seems more like industry shorthand for doing pretty well whatever one wants, and still
calling the thing a poll.

Public Agenda publishes a guideline for journalists to help them determine which polls should be covered; the very first question a journalist should ask is, "Who did the poll?... because reputation is important to a quality firm, a professionally conducted poll will avoid many errors." Now, the average online Canadian may not read guidance intended for journalists, but it's not rocket science that a good reputation lends credibility. I question whether lending one's credibility to a campaign that creates more confusion, misinformation, or disinformation in the arena of political polling is an undertaking in which Angus Reid should be engaged.

Since we last visited this issue in December, the polling firm has changed the adverpoll disclaimer, having dropped the last sentence, "For scientific polls conducted by Angus Reid Strategies, visit www.angusreidstrategies.com". So, given that Angus Reid has already demonstrated some flexibility might I suggest that the disclaimer again be further amended to include language that unambiguously indicates the "unscientific poll" is actually an advertisement?

Disclaimers are commonly used when an advertisement could be mistaken for something else. Consider infomercials, upon which we often see a disclaimer to the effect of, "the following program is a paid advertisement". The infomercial analogy isn't perfect, as the broadcaster may require disclaimer language, while the Internet is really more like the lawless wild west. But still, shouldn't we expect the straight goods from Angus Reid?

Try the poll yourself, here. What do you think? To share your thoughts about advertising, adverpolls, gullible bloggers, the Terry Lake poll specifically, or polling generally with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

February 22, 2008

Based upon the search strings that visitors have been typing in to Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. (which are then reported to me, the author of this site to which some of those searchers are directed), residents of communities all across Canada are anxious to find out what is happening with their local Convergys call centre.

For those of you who arrived here looking specifically for that information, welcome; despite the lack of a definitive announcement regarding which call centres will be affected, I'll do my best to point you to where you can find more information.

The back story is that Convergys President and CEO David Dougherty recently indicated that the company
plans to move at least a portion of its Canadian operations to Asia. In his January 29 conference call with analysts (which is available for you to listen right now, online from the Convergys web site), Dougherty explained that currency pressures (namely, a Canadian dollar that has risen substantially since many of the company's Canadian operations were first opened) are forcing the re-location of some operations to other countries, such as the Philippines.

I provided a little more information the other day in a comment to the original post, but it doesn't appear that many visitors have found it buried in the comments, so here it is again (for the most part) below.

More bad news for Canada's call center communities, as a Datamonitor report released today (February 19, 2008), via TMCnet
indicates that while Convergys may have been the first major call
centre company to start pulling out of Canada, it certainly won't be
the last to do move operations to the U.S. and other jurisdictions with
favourable exchange rates and labour costs. According to the report,
some of the strikes against Canadian call centre operations include:

The Canadian dollar has appreciated over 30 per cent, "which
has effectively eroded profit margins and operating cost savings that
many U.S. outsourcers had come to rely upon from their Canadian
operations"

A tight and highly mobile labour market, which
is pitting call centre employers against high-paying jobs in the oil
sands, driving up wages and benefits

The absence of a significant Spanish-speaking labour force. Fully a
third of American consumers now speak Spanish, and so American call
center companies are increasingly turning towards "near-shore" opportunities in Latin America.

"Canada and India
saw a significant drop in job creation due to key issues such poor
English proficiency in India and increasing currency valuation in
Canada."

"Canada will continue to see slow growth due
to currency exchange valuation which have made operating a center in
Canada more expensive than the United States in most markets. Entry
level wages have adjusted to US$10.00 to US$12.00 per hour due to
exchange rates."

"The Philippines has clearly become
the dominant, offshore location for English speaking call center
services due to the Americanized culture. Wage rates have increased to
US$2.50 to US$3.50 per hour."

According the Convergys web site, the company
also runs Canadian call centres in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Brandon,
Winnipeg, St. John's, Digby, Halifax, New Glasgow, Truro, Ottawa,
Welland, and Windsor. Canadian operations employ over 12,000 people.

In his call with analysts Mr. Dougherty also mentioned that Convergys had hired a business development officer to round up new Canadian business, a strategy that might help the company insulate itself from a rising loonie which has thus far generated primarily negative impact. In fact, Igor Sarenac was named as Vice President, Business Development for Canada on January 16.

In a side note, it became apparent today that very few (if any) of the people I know in Kamloops are aware of the cloud hanging over Convergys' Canadian operations. Here I thought I had simply overlooked mention of it in the local Kamloops papers, but now it seems that the story simply hasn't been picked up locally.

Considering the number of Canadian communities in which Convergys operates, the story hasn't received much coverage (online , at least) elsewhere either. The first mention of it I've managed to identify in the Canadian press appeared in the Ottawa Citizen's Execs share scary thoughts for scary times on February 13. Then earlier today (Friday) in Welland, ON, the Tribune publishedConvergys shutting down in Canada?; Company closing unprofitable sites. Since the original Ottawa Citizen's article, a couple of bloggers (here and here, etc.) have made reference to it, but that's about it. Is our economy really so strong that this is not a story?

Wherever you are, if you have heard further reports about - or from - your local call centre, please click "Comments" below to share the news with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers.

February 17, 2008

It looks like the booming economy and high Canadian dollar could team up to deliver a body blow to several communities across the country, as Convergys President and CEO David Dougherty recently indicated that the company plans to move at least a portion of its Canadian operations to Asia.

During his prepared statements, Mr. Dougherty indicated that Convergys
plans to shift some business from Canada to the Philippines. Employment
in Asia has grown considerably; more than a third of Convergys
employees are now employed there. Then, in response to a question later
during the same call, Mr. Dougherty said that the company is responding aggressively to "currency challenges" and that, "we've got to take some pretty aggressive action to redeploy and move our business to reduce our exposure in some of the key areas where we're being hurt. Most notably
we're being hurt today in Canada and we are taking action
to close centres there and move work to other geographies".

It's not surprising to learn that the high Canadian dollar and tight labour market have increased the cost of operations in Canada, possibly past the point of continued commitment. One of the reasons the company opened a location in Kamloops back in 2000 was the high unemployment rate, which provided a large pool of potential workers. In 2001 the unemployment in Kamloops was 13.8%. Today it is much lower; the average unemployment rate in 2007 was 5.0%.

While Convergys has not announced which Canadian operations will be affected, if the Kamloops call centre did close it would certainly have a major impact on the local economy. The Venture Kamloops web site indicates that Convergys is this community's largest private sector employer, with over 1,200 staff working at the Valleyview call centre.

According the Convergys web site, the company
also runs Canadian call centres in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Brandon,
Winnipeg, St. John's, Digby, Halifax, New Glasgow, Truro, Ottawa,
Welland, and Windsor.

To share your thoughts about Convergys, the high Canadian dollar, the past, present, or future of the local and national economies, call centres, call centers, or anything else with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops
readers, click on "Comments" (below).

February 14, 2008

My average level of frustration with current council is fairly elevated. I disagree with the notion that just because a particular level of government can do a thing, that it should do that thing. While there are a couple of individual exceptions, the overall bent of the current Kamloops city council is more than a little too nanny-state for my liking.

Nevertheless (I really love that word), the idea of municipal blue boxes is somewhat appealing. The Baker family has collected recyclables for years, and often the children join me on trips to the depot. I would prefer that recycling had been voluntarily adopted by more households, however here we are with a curbside recycling program imposed upon us whether we want it or not. Still, at less than $2 per month the cost is not onerous, and households that can sort and shift enough of their existing garbage output towards the blue bin could actually net out about even.

So, early Wednesday morning I eagerly filled our brand new blue container to the rim with accumulated
cardboard, cans, newspaper, and milk jugs, then wheeled it out to the end of the driveway. Much to my chagrin however, recycling pickup hasn't started yet, so after the truck went by I sheepishly wheeled the full container back to the garage.

I know I'm gonna take it in the ear from buddies who complain (as I have) about how over-governed and over-taxed we are. But while my first curbside recycling experience was a disappointment, with apologies to Joey and the gang at Café Primo I think I'm looking forward to doing it again next week, almost!

To share your thoughts about recycling, municipal blue boxes, Kamloops city council, or anything else with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops
readers, click on "Comments" (below).

February 11, 2008

If bloggers crave attention, Daily News editor Mel Rothenburger dished up a round on the house this past Saturday with his Armchair Mayor column, in which he provided readers with an introduction to, and brief assessment of, the Kamloops blogging scene. The column, Beware mainstream media: the bloggers are here provides a timely counterpoint to my own recent examinations of Kamloops' major media web properties.

<<< OK, if you made it through that last sentence without snickering, go back and read it again to the tune of Carly Simon's You're So Vain. >>>

The former Kamloops mayor gave top marks to media professionals who blog, a number of whom are employed by his newspaper. Amateur bloggers (including yours truly) received a little more scrutiny, which oddly enough is exactly the thing that many amateur bloggers both desire and fear.

For the most part Mr. Rothenburger is right on the money about blogger sensitivity; discussions about real and perceived slights can often take on a life of their own. Case in point is the story about the Tournament Capital Centre's basketball hoops over at www.KamloopsInsideOut.ca, and the subsequent coverage of the same story in the Daily News. When one considers the parallel discussions of the issue at ProBlogger.net and WritingForward.com, the combined thread now includes more than 80 posts and comments!

While Mr. Rothenburger stops at referring to the lot of us bloggers as, "sensitive" and "self-absorbed", others aren't nearly so restrained in their criticism. Author, broadcaster, and silicon value entrepreneur Andrew Keen, for example, wrote the book on us. In Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture, Mr. Keen argues that, “what the Web 2.0 revolution is really delivering is superficial observations of the world around us rather than deep analysis, shrill opinion rather than considered judgment.” Damn... if it hadn't been for Mr. Keen and his big mouth, we would have pinned the death of culture on that guy who makes antler lamps years ago!

Anyways, all this online dialogue is something that newspapers can and should be putting to good use. Some Canadian and US newspapers are responding to the blogging phenomenon by selecting amateur political commentary posted on their own newspaper web sites, and incorporating it into ongoing election coverage. Why? Well, because a lot of people are opinionated and self-absorbed!

By selecting and printing just a single column-inch of amateur commentary per day, these newspapers attract repeated online visits by more people who hope to see their own names and opinions in print. And by growing the reader/writer relationship from two dimensions on paper into something that includes an intimate and interactive online experience, newspapers have an opportunity to convert dwindling print subscribers into committed online participants. And of course, more eyeball$ for advertisers.

So, in counter-counterpoint Mr. Rothenburger, mainstream media needn't beware the blogger. Rather, if you don't mind shouldering some of the responsibility for the death of culture, instead consider becoming one with the blogger. Ommmmm...

P.S. - To Mr. Rothenburger's point about my run-on Blog Disclaimer and Comments Policy, in retrospect I did incorporate pretty well everything I could think of or copy that might C.M.A. (a not-so-insignificant task in Canada), other than of course the option of keeping my mouth closed. While it may not be the most elegant, sound, or effective blog policy around, at almost 500 words surely it must be one of the longest!

To share your thoughts about free speech, blogging, antler lamps, the media, or the death of culture with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops
readers, click on "Comments" (below).

January 26, 2008

In this continuing series of posts about online media properties in Kamloops, today's installment provides an assessment and comparison of local newspaper web sites.

As with the television assessment (posted here), the small number of major newspapers in Kamloops made a straight-up comparison difficult. As a result, I
also evaluated the web site of the Prince George Citizen. The Internet is a pretty dynamic place, so I expect that some of the things described below may be obsolete in short order, however as of today this information is as accurate as I can make it.

Not surprisingly, what I found is that two of the three newspaper web sites reviewed - Kamloops This Week and Prince George Citizen - did in fact present a much more compelling experience than the broadcaster web sites based in Kamloops. The web site for the Kamloops Daily News meanwhile, appears to be about even with local broadcaster web sites. The most fascinating aspect of the Kamloops News site is that it publishes web traffic statistics, which indicate that the site draws about 5,000 unique visitors per day and about 50,000 unique visitors per month. The busiest time of day is between 3:00 and 3:30 in the afternoon. Most of the traffic is coming from search engines, but while this means the site is drawing in many new visitors it also indicates that page views (and ad views, hence revenues) would likely be much higher if the paper implemented a strategy to draw visitors back to the site on a regular and direct basis rather than simply relying upon ad hoc search engine referrals.

Kamloops This Week

KTW executed a wholesale change to its web site a several months back,
which has now pulled its independent site (www.kamloopsthisweek.com) under
Black Press' unified
www.bclocalnews.com property. The new site is very clean, elegant, and easy to navigate. Using a common web domain also means that more eyeballs come to the single site (representing, for example, visitors from every community served by every Black Press newspaper publication in BC), and so it receives a *lot* of visitors and page views, which in turn are very attractive to advertisers (read: more revenue).

I do miss the strong just-Kamloops local flavour of the old site. However, the new site now functions as a gateway - not just to national and international news, as is often the case with newspaper chain web sites - but rather as a gateway to the smaller stories that occur in the many medium-to-small communities Black Press services. I find this very attractive; there are few things more interesting to me than the tiny ultra-local stories that typically only get airtime within a specific community. Black Press' www.bclocalnews.com web site now airs all those stories out to the entire distribution network. Facinating.

Both the old and new web sites delivered some manner of breaking stories (i.e. stories that have not yet appeared in the newspaper, may evolve before they are published, or may simply never actually appear in the newspaper itself). The first time I saw this was during summer 2007 when Kamloops This Week published minutes-old breaking news of the Kamloops Blazer General Meeting (at which the club was sold) online; I read it from Salmon Arm while on vacation there.

The newspaper is integrating its on- and off-line news strategies, as has been made evident by stories in the newspaper, which occasionally include an "On The Web" ad that directs readers to "Go online to www.kamloopsthisweek.com for more information... ". Leveraging the web site this way makes a lot of sense, as there are no space limitations on the web (meaning one can publish a veritable never-ending story, kind of like this post) online whereas the print version is constrained by the physical dimensions of the pages, but also because readers who do go online might see completely different advertisements there, meaning the publisher can maximize the revenue potential of a single story.

The web site includes an impressive array of online photo galleries (Dave Eagles), all available for purchase as framed or unframed hard copies.

Integrated with other Black Press properties/networks for careers, automotive, etc.Is currently utilizing ads from both Yahoo Google ad networks; I suspect the intent here may be a side-by-side test to determine which service generates the most click-thrus, and hence, the most revenue for the site

In a related feature, the www.bclocalnews.com web site also features blogs written by Black Press staff, including this post by Editor Bill Phillips of the Prince George Free Press
in which he discusses how that paper now reports news as it happens, including video on the web site, rather than simply focusing on print distribution.

Black Press is obviously growing capacity and skills within its New Media division, given recent advertisements for a variety of online and "New Media" positions including Regional Online Consultant, On-line Producer, etc.

I will credit Kamloops This Week for the initiative shown by two of its most visible personalities - Dale Bass and Christopher Foulds - each of whom run blogs at http://dalebass.blogspot.com and http://chrisfoulds.blogspot.com respectively. The blogs contribute to their employer's overall web presence in a variety of ways, including:

The blogging process helps both of writers personally acquire know-how about the online community from the perspectives of both of consumers and publishers. This is a good thing, as I believe that there is opportunity for traditional media outlets to leverage and exploit the activities of bloggers and other online citizens to drive more eyeballs (and hence more revenue) toward their own media organizations.

Blogs are often perceived to be much more personal and interactive than commercial media web sites, so these blogs promote more buy-in from readers who might not otherwise develop similar emotional connections to the personalities and columns when they appear in the newspaper.

Prince George Citizen

Blogging service for readers - important because it may keep novices from starting their own (competitive) blog, but also encourages bloggers of all stripes to post their own comments, including links
back to their own blogs

Photo galleries back to November 2006, includes viewing stats and viewer votes, ability to purchases

Not all newspaper stories are published online, although online content subscriptions are being considered for the future. Not all online stories are published in newspaper.

Is now incorporating video reports into some stories, which is significantly blurring the line between this newspaper enterprise broadcast media. In fact, both the Prince George Citizen and the Prince George Free Press (a Black Press publication, as above) have begun to deliver video news on their web sites, so PG is apparently leading the way within the BC Interior towards an increasingly popular and rewarding media convergence.

Kamloops Daily News

The Prince George Citizen (which has been included in this comparison) is one of the Kamloops Daily News' sister web sites, and it appears that the Citizen's Internet department is also hosting at least a portion of the Daily News' web site. This is a positive for the Kamloops Daily News, as itsuggest to me that the Kamloops Daily News may adopt a cookie-cutter copy of the Citizen's web site at some point. This would allow the Daily News to fast forward towards a more competitive online presence, as the Prince George Citizen has a lot of great content and great features. Unfortunately the visual presentation of the Citizen's web site somewhat overwhelming; a little design simplicity would go a long way to streamlining the user experience, encouraging longer visits, and consequently increasing the page views, ad views and revenues.

It is interesting to see that The News has also incorporated a Fundata investment fund search and reporting feature. Fundata is 50% owned by Kamloops Daily News parent company, Glacier Ventures.

Here again, I will credit the Kamloops Daily News for a blog written by one of that paper's senior staff members - Sports Editor Greg Drinnan - who publishes his Taking Note sports blog at http://gdrinnan.blogspot.com. Mr. Drinnan also publishes traffic statistics on his blog; the metrics used are a little different between the two sites, but if I am accurately drawing a parallel between between "page views" and "Visits incl. Reloads", these stats indicate he is drawing nearly 1/4 as much traffic as the main Kamloops Daily News web site.

January 18, 2008

As the first month of 2008 unfolds here in Kamloops, the city remains transfixed by the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association scandal in which underage players partied at the home of association President Stan Burton, and the parent who brought the matter to the press was suspended by the association executive.

Meanwhile, at about the same time two years ago, the people of Kelowna were not only transfixed but were also mobilizing to change the president and executive of Kelowna Minor Hockey after they suspended a parent and her hockey-playing son for speaking out.

In that case hockey mom Wendy Wahler wrote a letter to the editor of Castanet.net, an online Kelowna media property. The letter expressed her frustration that both Kelowna Mayor Sharon Sheperd and Kelowna Minor Hockey President Mike Dalton failed to attend the organization's 27th annual Tim Hortons Major Midget Hockey Tournament. KMH president Mike Dalton then suspended both Ms. Wahler (for a year) and her 17-year-old son - who was captain of the Midget AA Junior Rockets - even though the boy had not offered any criticism himself.

Prior to the meeting President Mike Dalton resigned. But on February 21 2006, a vote to dissolve the association's executive was held. Despite the massive turnout, and a majority who voted in favour of the motion, the motion was defeated. Still, the damage had been done; when the smoke cleared the following May at the annual general meeting, Kelowna Minor Hockey had a new president and an executive with mostly of fresh faces.

Here in Kamloops, despite all the searches for information and letters to the editor, there is no similar petition circulating, and Kamloops Minor
Hockey Association members seem disinclined to rock the boat despite Stan Burton's egregious lack of judgement, whereas in Kelowna all Mike Dalton did was play hooky and go skiing. Go figure.

I've been told that far from mobilizing, many KMHA parents are actually sharing less criticism of the organization than usual, lest they or their children incur some future retribution. In Kamloops the status quo remains firmly in effect; Stan Burton and the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association executive have nothing to worry about.

To share your thoughts about the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association,
problems in amateur sport, the status quo, or any other aspect of this
issue with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

January 13, 2008

Based upon the continuing appearance of letters to local newspaper editors, it appears that interest in the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association youth drinking scandal has failed to dissipate over the holidays. In fact, Kamloops Daily News City Editor Susan Duncan addressed the issue for the first time in Friday's On The Run column, published here. That so many in Kamloops refused to let the issue die over the holidays speaks to the depth of frustration and unease with the KMHA's handling of the affair.

This isn't just a matter of a few hotheads who won't give the issue up. Rather, it confirms something I've observed online since first posting about the issue back in December; people are looking for information about the scandal in large numbers.

One interesting aspect of publishing online is that one can monitor the visitor traffic to one's web site. Now, for the most part the level of detail to which I have access isn't very fine. However, it is very specific in one respect; search strings.

A significant portion of the visitors who arrive at this site do so after finding it on a search engine like Google, Yahoo,MSN. When the person conducting the search is redirected here, the search engine also sends me the list of words for which they were searching. As you can imagine, online publishers who care to review this data can develop a pretty good understanding of what interests their readers.

What I have learned since December is that readers of this blog are continuing to search for information about the underage drinking party at the home of Kamloops Minor Hockey Association (KMHA) President Stan Burton, the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association, minor hockey in Kamloops, Ladd and Monica Maloski, and a variety of other terms that are related to this sad saga.

In addition to observing visitor traffic, I have also received emails from concerned citizens - some of whom are leaders in the Kamloops sporting community - who express dismay at the apparent lack of respect for essential KMHA principles, such as;

EXPECTATIONS OF EXECUTIVE MEMBERSAn Executive Member of Kamloops Minor Hockey is an Executive Member first, parent and spectator second... Conduct shall be considered to be under scrutiny at all times and therefore above reproach.

and,

EXPECTATIONS OF COACHES AND TEAM OFFICIALSThose individuals accepting the position of coach do so knowing that they become the most important individual to the team. By leadership the coach establishes a model that players will use to mould a significant portion of their attitude toward the game. This facet is especially true in minor hockey where players are in the formative years of their life.

Following are a few points that Team Officials must keep in mind:...8) The illegal use of alcohol or drugs will not be tolerated. Anyone found guilty will be subject to suspension

Will public outrage force Stan Burton to resign? I doubt it; I suspect he has made up his mind to serve out his term, regardless of what would be best for the association. While Mr. Burton may choose to go out on his own terms, one has to wonder about the remainder of the executive. They have apparently chosen inaction rather than taking a stand on principles that seem obvious to the rest of us. How will they be able to lead the KMHA once Mr. Burton steps aside?

To share your thoughts about the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association,
problems in amateur sport, leadership, or any other aspect of this
issue with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

December 25, 2007

If you read, watch, or listen to the news in Canada, you are no doubt aware of Angus Reid. The market research company tracks, and some would say influences, public opinion on politics and a host of other issues. Angus Reid himself sold the Angus Reid Group, which had become the largest market research in Canadian history and claimed a perfect 25-year record of predicting Canadian elections, in 2000 to international giant Ipsos. Since then, Mr. Reid has founded a couple of related market research companies, including Angus Reid Strategies.

Angus Reid Strategies describes itself as, "... a full-service public opinion and market
research company, with an emphasis on online research, providing
consulting and services to clients in North America." One way the company collects online research is through its online panel, Angus Reid Forum.

When I happened across this online forum's web site today, I was surprised to discover a poll which appears to be specifically targeted at Kamloops residents. The poll's one and only question?

IS TERRY LAKE DOING A GOOD JOB AS MAYOR OF KAMLOOPS?

The disclaimer on the Angus Reid Forum web site indicates that the poll is unscientific (as pictured below). Nevertheless, when 60% of respondents to an Angus Reid poll disagree with the notion that the mayor is doing a good job, one can't help but wonder if the winds of change will blow in Kamloops next fall.

The next question one might logically ask: for whom is the poll being conducted? There has already been some speculation in the local media that some of our existing councilors might want the top job. Is one of them taking the public temperature? I have some thoughts about the poll, but they will have to wait for a future post. As it is, I think I hear the sound of tiny hooves on my roof, so I best make sure the milk and cookies are out where St. Nick can see them. Merry Christmas!

What do you think? To share your thoughts about who sponsored the poll, Mayor Terry Lake, city council, or next year's municipal elections with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below).

December 22, 2007

Kamloops Daily News Sports Editor Greg Drinnan made a comment recently that caught my attention, in his follow-up story (reproduced on his blog here) regarding the ongoing saga of underage drinking at the home of Kamloops Minor Hockey Association President Stan Burton, and the related mistreatment of whistle-blowers Ladd and Monica Malosk (emphasis my own):

According to the KMHA’s website, from which its bylaws recently disappeared, its second vice-president is Kelly Brandt. Brandt is a friend of the Maloskis and was in their home the evening of the party. She has since removed herself from the appeal committee.

Hamilton was appointed the committee’s chairman at a Nov. 26 board meeting. He is the KMHA’s midget director. It was a midget team that held the party in the home of the KMHA president.

And around and around it goes.

In addition to Mr. Drinnan's implication that the apparent conflicts of interest at the KMHA might adversely affect the both Maloskis and the overall handling of the affair, the reference to the removal from the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association web site of the association's bylaws piqued my interest.

To share your thoughts about the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association,
problems in amateur sport, teenage drinking, conflicts of interest, whistle-blower mistreatment, or any other aspect of this
issue with Right Up Your Alley: Kamloops readers, click on "Comments" (below). If you have a more recent version of the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association bylaws, email me here.

Now, when I personally am looking for an update on a local story, the first place I typically look online is
either at the CFJC-TV web site or at the Radio NL web site. Neither location provides a lot of information, often just a couple of sentences, but sometimes it's enough to at least temporarily satisfy the news jones.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that a CHBC priority is to develop a comprehensive online strategy, and this is no doubt a result of CanWest's Internet focus, as per that company's 2006 Annual Information Form (emphasis my own):

Our online and new media strategy is to continue to build our strong internet presence in order to leverage our editorial content across multiple media, provide integrated solutions to our advertisers and to cross-promote our publications, broadcasting and internet operations. We intend to capitalize upon the promotional and editorial capabilities of our integrated newspaper and video production in order to create Canada’s leading network of local content websites. The internet is complementary to our existing businesses and a significant potential source of new revenue.

In fact, CanWest's 2007 Annual Report claims that the company has managed to increase the volume of unique visitors to its online web sites by 30% over the previous year. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident.

The elements of the CHBC web site that most interest me include:

The widespread use of video news stories. Many of the video news stories appear to have been lifted straight off the station's news broadcasts (which seems like a no-brainer), but for some reason many local TV stations have difficulty pulling the trigger when it comes to streaming their own video content online.

Once you've found a video story of interest, you can actually send a link to the story to a friend. This is a great feature that delivers real value to the media consumer, but it also generates more traffic to www.chbcnews.ca site when friends follow links back to stories at the web site. Unfortunately the "Send Story" function is paired up with a "Print Story" feature, which is at odds with video streaming both conceptually and in practice.

CHBC provides a virtual tour of the station, including 360° images of every room. Essential? No. Cool? Absolutely!

The volume of information available. Visitors really have an opportunity to hang out and get lost. Thank goodness for the virtual tour map so we can find our way out again!

Now, while CHBC has developed an engaging online presence for media consumers, much like CFJC-TV it doesn't appear the station is doing much with respect standalone banner or video advertising online. I suspect that for the moment CHBC is content to draw a growing online to its web site, but at some point it will need to exploit all those eyeballs; it's one thing to build a great web site, but something else again to make that web site profitable.

So, here is the comparison. As you can see the display format differs somewhat from the Radio comparison, it will probably change again when I publish the newspaper comparison (coming soon).